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You can download or listen to individual questions from this episode below.

Introduction (0:00)

My News of the Week: Monday’s talk on “Why Personality Matters in Politics… But Not in the Way You Think” at Liberty on the Rocks – Flatirons was a blast. Lila and I went foxhunting (really, coyote chasing) on Wednesday. I’ve made good progress updating my scripts to accomodate old and new podcasts.

In this segment, I answered a question on the speed of free market reforms.

Should free-market reforms be gradual or instantaneous? Many advocates of free markets concede that reforms toward capitalism should be gradual. For example, Yaron Brook said recently about abolishing Social Security, “There is no way to eliminate it tomorrow. There is no way to eliminate it… cold turkey.” But why not? What’s wrong with the “cold turkey” approach? Is the concern simply that the only way to get people to accept reforms is to make them slowly? Or would it be somehow unjust to cut off people’s entitlements suddenly, given that they’ve come to depend on them?

My Answer, In Brief: If Americans were supportive, many free market reforms could and should be immediate. However, gradual reforms are wise in some cases, and welfare programs for people without the capacity to support themselves should be phased out gradually – for moral and practical reasons.

In this segment, I answered a question on the role of empathy in morality.

What is the relationship between empathy and morality? Must a person possess a strong sense of empathy to be moral? Is empathy an important quality of character or moral emotion – or the most important? What’s the role of empathy in a rational person’s life?

My Answer, In Brief: Feelings of empathy are morally neutral. A person faces various moral challenges and pitfalls, whether he feels empathy strongly and often or not. Morality – as concerns others – requires grasping perspective of others (among other things), and acting in decent and just way toward them.

Philosophy in Action Radio applies rational principles to the challenges of real life in live internet radio shows on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings. For information on upcoming shows, visit the Episodes on Tap. For podcasts of past shows, visit the Show Archives.

Remember, with every episode of Philosophy in Action Radio, we show how rational philosophy can help you find joy in your work, model virtue for your kids, pursue your goals effectively, communicate with respect, and advocate for a free society. We can’t do that without your support, so please remember to tip your philosopher!

Explore Atlas Shrugged

Do you want to better understand and appreciate Ayn Rand's epic novel Atlas Shrugged? Explore Atlas Shrugged -- my in-depth course consisting of a podcast series, study questions, and other resources -- will help you do that.